Booked Out: The Secret Santa Edition

Q. Eek, Secret Santa's coming up in our office. What can I buy for my colleague, who I don’t know that well yet?

A. When shopping for someone who don’t know very well, you could do worse than to be guided by the popular consensus. Some of the biggest sellers of 2017 are Naomi Alderman’s feminist sci-fi thriller The Power, David Grann’s immersive true crimeKiller of the Flower Moon, and both of Jane Harper’s bestselling and utterly addictive crime novels:The Dry and Force of Nature. Or, if you’re hoping to get them a book that will make them laugh – Rachel Khong’s witty and oh-so-relatable Goodbye, Vitamin is an absolute staff favourite this year. Khong is the former editor of foodie magazine Lucky Peach and a terrific writer. For a lighter Australian title, try Heather Taylor Johnson’s Jean Harley was Here which is that time-honoured and much-loved item – a smart holiday read.